Musings

South of Haiti This is not a tourism destination video. This is not about ignoring the country’s poverty, struggles in Port-au-Prince, or the general difficulties of Haitian realities. It would have been all too easy to drive through the most devastated areas of the country, film it and say, “Look how sad.” This video does…

In a recent episode of Girls, Hannah talks about feeling like she’s selling out by writing advertorials. Her job is where creatives go to die (read: make money). I feel like that sometimes with my blog, too. You make a choice between living and livelihood. I used to really like writing narrative pieces and I…

Disponible en Francais: Cliquez ici My first year in Martinique, my roommate developed unexplained marks on her neck, back, and legs. According to a friend of ours, a dorlis had attacked her in her sleep. The dorlis is said to be a male practitioner of black magic that transforms to an evil spirit to assault,…

Happy Valentine’s Day! I’m sure you’re sick of seeing all of your friends lovey-dovey Facebook statuses and Instagram photos of the dozen roses they got with an antique filter on it…so I’m going to change it up a bit. Do something a little unconventional, I’ll tell you about the place I love. Every time…

Last week I posted about the 6 places I’m seriously wanderlusting over and I was thinking: based on how I prefer to travel (i.e. slow travel) how will I be able to see all of these places in one lifetime? I like to live abroad, spend time in a place and feel comfortable there and…

It’s not that I don’t love London. I do. Honest. It’s just that last year at this time, I was working 12 hours a week, dancing, surfing, and hiking in the Caribbean… Even though I was occasionally miserable in Martinique, rainy days during the daily grind of the 9-5 (okay, 9:30-6) in London kind of…

Over the last few weeks, I’ve pretty much disappeared off the face of the blogosphere. For little old me, it’s the equivalent of a twig falling in Canada’s boreal forest, but just in case anyone cares enough to wonder why – here’s what’s been going on with me this fine November. I’ve been somewhat down…

If you’re visiting England right now, or are a new arrival like me, you may be wondering why the hell people have been setting off fireworks every night since Hallowe’en. I know I was. Long story short, it’s because of Bonfire Night – or Guy Fawkes Night – which is basically an excuse for Britons…

I only became aware of TBEX five months ago, which is right around the time I started to consider myself ‘a blogger’ rather than a person with a blog and began pursuing freelance writing. I attended some events Matador Network hosted during TBEX in Toronto (whatever your politics on that, we’ll put them aside for…

A couple of weeks ago I received the following email from a friend (it’s been edited to exclude personal information): Hey Alyssa, What motivates you to travel and live abroad? I’m questioning if I should continue to do it or start to make a stable life in Georgia. I wonder if it’s worth it that…

Who am I?

I’m Alyssa — PhD Student and Freelance Writer based in New York City! I write about Travel and Social Justice. Words in MSN, Bustle, the Globe and Mail, Porthole Cruise Magazine, The Local, Matador Network, and more.